Hello, I had been having panic attacks since college in 1990. I was also convinced I was having a heart attack or stroke. After going through every test imaginable the doctors told me I was "fine". I finally in 2000 went to psychologist, who prescribed paxil. After the first week or so nothing seemed any different, and I thought it was making me worse. I stuck with it and am now feeling great after 1-1/2 years of taking it. I have been off of it now for about 4-months. Believe me I know what you are going through. I would not wish this on anyone. Good luck to you.

Tammy - You are SO not alone. Panic attacks for me, although tramatic, have never been PAINFUL... more just overwhelming -short of breathe -heart attack symptoms etc like you describe.. if anything,,, when I have had my worst attacks... I just KNEW I was having a stroke...lol... Its a difficult thing to live with -but no impossible. If you are not getting support from your General Physician - I would seek assistance from a Psychologist. But I do not know much... wish I could fix SOMETHING for you my friend... email me if you need to talk. biancak_us@yahoo.com Hang in there.

hey , Thanks for replying its nice to know there are people out there who understand, The headaches are a little weird and the fact i always feel this way is weird as well, If anyone knows any chat rooms where i can talk to people with anxiety please let me know

Hi Tammya, I'm not a doctor, but i can say that it does sound like you have a panic disorder, simply b/c i KNOW i do, and you have a lot of the same symptoms. First of all, my whole disorder started one night when a huge panic attack knocked me right on my ass (like what happened to you), with no trigger or prior anxiety. The rest is history... You asked whether you might have health problems other than anxiety. There's no way i can tell you that, but i CAN tell you that your panic attacks MIGHT be related to some other medical condition though. For instance, my Aunt has just started having panic attacks over the last year or so, and its because she has some sort of respiratory problem where she's allergic to cold air. She's fine all summer, spring and fall, but when winter hits, she won't leave her house. Its very scary for her. I think that most of us with panic disorders initially think that its a health problem, b/c the symptoms are so physically traumatic. As for your headaches, i only have possible explanations. For me personally, headaches are not usually a part of my panic attacks. However, i have had them afterwards, b/c i get so dizzy that i think circulation does not flow properly to my head. Therefore, afterwards i have a headache. This also happens to my legs and arms, b/c they generally fall asleep during an intense panic attack as well. These are actually new symptoms for me, never happened before this year. However, if you are having PAINS all over your body, in regular patterns, to me it doesn't sound like only anxiety. This is only based on my personal experience, but generally i don't experience physical pains. Just diziness, heart palpitations, nausea, etc. Not pain though. Then again, it would depend on the type of pain. Shooting? Burning? Throbbing? Aching? Maybe is it possible that you have a medical condition that is causing panic attacks, rather than the other way around? I hope i haven't said too much. It just seems to me that panic disorders are widely misunderstood and misrepresented, and it seems to just recently be receiving adequate attention, so i just don't think that any cause can be ruled out, when there is so much yet to learn about it. Just remember that many of us have intense phy

Hello everyone, im new to this site and was wondering if there is anyone out there who can help me, First let me tell you a little bit about what has been happening to me. Recently i took an attack one night that i was convinced was a heart attack, I had sharp pains in my chest and my left arm, I was short of breath and felt like i was loosing my mind. In the hospital that night they did an EKG and told me everyting was fine, well when i went home that night i was not feeling fine and have not felt fine since that night. This is the part where i need some help from people who are feeling like this as well. Im convinced i have a medical problem rather than an anxiety disorder, i feel as if every doctor is lying to me and is missing something, In the last month i have been at the hopital at least 60 times, and my pains are always the same, my heart is pounding so fast, I have pains in my chest and arm(always left sided), i have had pains in my stomach, pains in my legs, and constant headaches (in all my reading i have not heard anyone mention headaches, is this a symptom ?), but the confusing part about this is this is not only sometimes but it is everyday(all the time) does anxiety exist in this form? I dont really know alot about anxitey this is pretty new to me and would like all the info i can get. This is starting to ruin my life, and i feel like noone understands what is happening to me. Im scared to sleep, dont feel like eating and need some help. If anyone can offer me some information it would be great .